Phillip Lim, owner of Asia Cafe in Knoxville, TN, says his restaurant is the first in the nation to replace two diners chairs with commodes. “You can sit on the throne in my restaurant,” says Lim.
by Martha Rose Woodward
Sunspherebook@aol.com
If you are looking for tasty food from an authentic Asian cuisine, type 6714 B Central Avenue Pike, 37912 into your GPS and head on out to the Asia Cafe off I-75-Exit 110 Callahan Drive.
Owners Louise and Phillip Lim, along with family members and their highly skilled and well-trained staff, will greet you with a smile and dazzle you with a choice of six kinds of ethnic Asian foods—all under one roof. Choose from the “all Asian, healthy, exotic recipes” of Malaysian, Thai, Oriental, Indonesian, Sushi or Japanese Grill.
Drinks include a full selection of liquor, beer and wine. Lim, a gregarious, lively, mannerly gentleman, is a native of Malaysia, who says he has lived in Knoxville since 1995 and has been in the restaurant business in one position or the other for over 28 years. He has lived in the USA for 30 years; his wife, whom he describes as beautiful and smart, has been an RN for 20 years and currently works at St. Mary’s Hospital.
His son, Shawn, also works in the restaurant that was voted Knoxville’s #1 Best Ethnic and Chinese Restaurant of the Year. The Lim family is also the owner of Natural Alternatives, Inc., a company that sells supplements that “give you natural healthy alternatives that matter.” The web address is http://www.naturalalternativesinc.net. Another company owned by his family is a distributor of gasoline and oil and is a leader in advanced separation technology with over 30 years of experience combined.
It can be found at www.infinityintlpower.com. According to the web site www.asiacafe.org, “Lim has received numerous merit and achievement awards and has recognition throughout his career. He is a businessman with extensive knowledge and experience in the food and beverage industry, as well as in the import and export industry. Through his many years of experience and entrepreneurial skills, he has been responsible for the success of numerous business ventures.
Lim is a master in the food and beverage service industry. He worked for many years ground up from a dishwasher to management position in a famous family dining restaurant chain in the US. He then exercised his experience and started a small to-go and catering restaurant. Having built it from scratch, he expanded his ideas and successfully conceived a chain of catering and franchising restaurants here & abroad. In year 1995, he was named restaurant entrepreneur in the Melaka Tourism Industry Magazine in Malaysia, with worldwide distribution.” Lim says that his restaurant has been recession proof as people who know what it means to find good food truly prepared the Asian way have flocked to his store. Lim has expanded his business once and is looking at opening three more restaurants possibly in Hardin Valley, Maryville and Oak Ridge. Lim attributes the success of his business to his use of the “secret recipes he brought over from Malaysia as well as authentic cooking methods.”
“Asian food is meant to be served hot,” he said. “When cooked correctly, the aromas spill out from the kitchen to the delight of our customers.” Asia Café also takes the extra steps to provide free Wi-Fi for customers who enjoy working while dining, and they have live entertainment every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Elvis Tribute Artist, Ronnie Miller, is a regular performer along with a live band on Saturdays, Karaoke every Friday and Bike Night Sundays. The creative businessman is the in process of developing an energy drink he plans to market soon that he says will provide vitality in all aspects of a person’s life. With a grand flair for theatrics, Lim recently installed two commodes as seating in place of chairs in one dining room of his restaurant. Ever the showman, Lim says, “Come to Asia Cafe to see the first restaurant in America to have toilet seats as chairs.”
For more information phone 865 688-8888.
Directions:
Off I-75 • Exit 110 Callahan Dr
Turn Left from 1-75 South,
Right from 1-75 North
Go .2 Miles to 6714B Central Ave Pike (across from Weigel’s)
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